


From Me To You

by o0DreamsHireath0o



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Angst, F/M, Ghouls, She/her pronouns, Some Fluff, Soulmate AU, fem!reader - Freeform, first fanfiction on here so be nice, ghoul/human, kaneki ken - Freeform, kirishima ayato - Freeform, loads of scars, tokyo ghoul - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:40:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29196237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/o0DreamsHireath0o/pseuds/o0DreamsHireath0o
Summary: Soulmate AU: Kaneki Ken/Fem!ReaderShe thought it would start and end with a scrape on the knee and a scar on the elbow. She didn’t know she’d wake up one day to barely recognise herself.
Relationships: Kaneki Ken | Sasaki Haise & Reader, Kaneki Ken | Sasaki Haise/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 36





	From Me To You

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So I’ve never posted on here but I have on Wattpad. A lot of my old works are there that I believe have great concepts but are just poorly written. So everything will move over here starting with this one. Please be kind but more importantly I hope you enjoy reading :) 
> 
> \- Dream

At first, it was a penny-sized scar on your knee, adorable in how small it was and a marvel for your mum. When she noticed she fluttered across the home with your four-year-old body and showed any of your siblings she could find across the house. It was a remarkable day, the day you received your first scar, much like when you saw your first words or learn to talk. It was a joyous day that your comically overprotective dad and brothers couldn't help but distrust. A scar this young wasn't common but not so rare simultaneously, but it was something still to ponder. 

When you entered primary school you showed your scar off like a medal, your face beaming as you raised the cuff of your jeans and wobbled your knobbly knee so your peers could get a good look. It was something everyone grew to adore and love about themselves as they knew then that they weren't meant to walk the Earth alone. 

It's only when you came to the age of eleven when you settled down your boasting manner as everyone else began to earn their scars. They were all different and beautiful, one girl's even made her look like Harry Potter with the thin, silver line running down the centre of her forehead. But, it was also around this time that you began to get small scars on your knees and heels of your hands as if you had been pushed to the ground repeatedly until the iridescent skin closed the wounds. You couldn't put two and two together until you walked home and saw a classmate of yours being beaten down by bullies. That had to be the reason for the new scars you thought and you were disappointed to know people like that even existed. 

Looking back, it was ignorant to think that that could be the worse possible way to get scars. 

It was the eve of Halloween when you last went to sleep with the majority of your body scarless. After that, they littered your skin until you cried every time you looked in the mirror before eventually throwing your fist through the glass. It was the shatter that shocked your household and had your mum and dad rushing in your room to see the damage. To think that would be the last of it would be a dream and in the week leading up to Christmas, they only got worse. 

Scars littered your face as if it had been smashed in with a hammer and around your ears, fingers and toes there were uneven rings like they'd been sawed off continuously until there were bare stubs left. It was the same across your body and the worse was your nails with the tops having tears like they'd been ripped out. These all appeared before the happiest holiday in your household. 

You remember coming down the stairs that morning completely numb, your body practically mutilated. 

"Oh good (Y/N) you're awake!" Your mum cheered from the stove, her body light as she skipped around her station to Wham!. For your whole life, you wanted her to remain with her back to you, for her to forever remember you as a scarless, beautiful human being instead of this monstrous creature you now were. It was only when you refused to answer that she faced you. 

The only word you could find to describe her expression was horrified. Forgetting the spatula, she dropped it to the ground and cupped her trembling hands across her mouth as she screamed in hysteria. It ricocheted off the walls and assaulted your eardrums but you could understand. 

All that ran through your mind then was your soulmate. Was he okay? Of course, that was such a silly question to ask, he definitely wasn't. The pain he was probably enduring was unimaginable for you and you could only silently stand on the linoleum of your kitchen and wait for your family to respond to your mother's wailing cries. 

"My baby" she sobbed before she approached with fragile steps and held you close to her chest. The smell of her clothes was reminiscent of a time when you weren't hideous; when you were completely normal and flashed your scars with pride. Now, there was nothing to hide them when you wanted to. 

By the time the rest entered the room, your father could barely comprehend the scene before him (much like your siblings). 

"(Y/N)?" You dad murmured. 

"I guess he's really in pain" you answered as you pulled away from your mum's embrace. 

"The hell with him!-" your older brother erupted, "- look what he's done to you? What did he think he was doing?", 

"Does this really look like his fault?" You snapped with bared teeth; you couldn't believe this was their reaction out of hundreds of others. 

"I don't know... from the look of you he doesn't seem sane" your younger brother peeped up. 

"Maybe he's in trouble. I mean, from the look of me..." you trailed off to run the cracked skin around your lips and cheek, it was no longer smooth like before and the texture made you cringe. 

"This is ridiculous-" your dad sighed in exasperation, "- so what are we meant to do? Watch you get mauled like some animal?". 

Well, that's what they had to do for the next ten days. On Christmas morning you only received worse and by that point, there was no patch of skin left untouched, it was immensely disturbing to the point you refused your reflection attention. Some nights, probably most, you could barely sleep and only felt the impulse to run your hands and try to remember the previous smoothness of your skin. Throughout that week and a bit, every moment seemed to bleed together. No longer did you go to school because of the scars, no one saw you outside of the house and with that, the world slowly forgot about (Y/N) (L/N). 

That was until your dream of being a CCG Investigator became a reality. You approached the white, imposing building wrapped in modest clothing that became a lousy attempt at hiding your soulmate scars. But, despite this, you still entered with a deep, anxious exhale. 

It was your tour of the building before you started and your father had made sure with his position that nobody took mind of your soulmate marks. After a large scale email was sent, with his passive-aggressive tone basically bleeding from the computers, everyone seemed to avoid your eye besides from the woman beside you. She was elegant and everything you strived to be with her blond hair plaited Ito a bun and her figure intimidating despite its delicate curves. 

"You must be Miss (L/N), I'm Akira Mado, I'll be your mentor for the time being" she introduced with barely a smile curling at her lips. 

"It's such a pleasure to meet you" you tried to greet confidently. You had managed to draw from early high school (Y/N) in an attempt to pull some sort of self-security into your hunched form. And with Akira's swift nod you internally cheered at the mild success. 

"Just remember, if you have any questions please feel free to ask", 

"I actually have one now" you announced in a soft tone.

"And what would that be?", 

You nervously fiddled with your fingers,   
"Is everyone always going to avoid me?". 

Akira was slightly taken aback at your straightforward query. It was strange coming from a girl with such a shy disposition but instead of brushing it off like your father would have wanted, Investigator Mado sighed and answered like she was meant to as your mentor. 

"I suppose with time people will become warmer but I doubt it'll happen so soon", 

"Is it because of my dad?", Akira raised a questioning eyebrow.   
"I didn't always look like this, I just woke up and there they were. Sometimes I think he's embarrassed of me", 

"Aren't those soulmate scars? What is there to be embarrassed about? At least you have one", 

"At the price of a mutilated body?" You asked to watch Investigator Mado really ponder the question. She couldn't imagine being so young and just get up from the bed like another day to look like you did. 

"Do you know them yet?", 

"No, but I've always thought the worst", 

"What would that be?" She asked in subtle intrigued. 

"Well, the worst is my best theory... that he's a ghoul". 

Akira sucked in a sharp breath. It was definitely possible, it's not like a human could endure such torture and live to tell the tale and from the scars still marking your body, she knew his heart still beat. 

"Do you ever blame them? For what happened to you?", 

You looked over to the Investigator and once again marked down the running tally of how many people had asked that already. 

"No, it doesn't look like he did this himself. Either way, how could I blame him? I just have the scars, he has the pain and memories to live with them. At least I'm exempt from that".

☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎

Ken Kaneki was stuck with Ayato on another stakeout, his mind rambling with memories of Anteiku and his torture as he cracked another finger. Sometimes he wondered if this was the price for his torture, for going scarless, unlike his soulmate, to be trapped with the brat beside him. 

"Brooding as always" Ayato groaned as he sat and continued to watch his associate. He could barely see the weak barista from Anteiku in this cannibalistic ghoul beside him. 

"Is there much else to do?" Kaneki sighed. 

"Stay on track", 

"Stay on track? Funny", 

"What? You a clown now?" the Ukaku growled. 

"Barely" Kaneki scoffed before letting his eyes trail across the congested roads of Tokyo. 

"Speaking of barely, I've barely eaten, up for a snack?", the silence following the young ghoul's words only confirmed his thoughts. 

Weak, he spat. 

"That one looks good enough" Ayato pointed out to your shadowed form walking just below their building. You had a pretty silhouette and intrigued Kaneki once he caught sight of your physique. Immediately, the half-ghoul felt the pull and idly ran the scar over his forefinger (he supposed it was from a kitchen accident). It was strange how he didn't scar anymore but yours still remained upon his body like a phantom of humanity. 

"I call dibs" and before Kankei could stop him, the Ayato had dropped himself from the ledge and landed himself beside you with a quiet thud. 

At first, you mistook it for a stray cat until you felt the creep of a hand over your shoulder before it ripped toe from the lamplight and into a more desolate street. Houses were bordered up from abandonment and he deemed this the safest place to devour the supple flesh he had smelt from above. 

"What a nice treat, shame you have to miss out Eyepatch" Ayato cooed sarcastically before finally pinning you down under him. But with one clear look at you, suddenly, his appetite was gone. 

"What the f*ck happened to you?" he cussed in disgust. 

It was one of those moments when the utter shock had silenced the scene but you still couldn't help but think: even too ugly for the ghouls to eat. It made you release a burst of sardonic laughter as Ayato stood from your corpsing body, you had ruined the meal and who would think that skin could really be armour. 

"God, I guess I have to thank my soulmate when I meet him" you chuckled as you sat up from the concrete. 

"F*ck me, they're soul marks?", 

"Yep, won the soulmate lottery didn't I?" You asked the ghoul as if he wasn't going to eat you a minute earlier. But in all honesty, once your attention had drifted from your predator your eyes caught the one leaning against the wall. He had bright, white hair and a height that highly contradicted his terrifying disposition. He was more terrifying than the loud one immediately before you. 

Kaneki's first impression of you was met with awe (that was thankfully hidden under his mask). He could see his torture in every scar that marked your body: the rings around your limbs, the cracked scars across your face, the skin around your nails heavily damaged. It was like seeing a human version of Kaneki that survived Jason. 

"When did they appear?" He asked monotonously. 

"Pardon?", 

"The scars?", your eyebrows scrunched together in confusion before you stuttered an answer. 

"December of last year, a week before Christmas". 

Kaneki inhaled a deep, haunting breath before he pushed himself off the wall and crouched before your paralysed body. He immediately knew it was you, he didn't even have to ask the question ever again if he had hurt you because he knew he had. The tale of his trauma was written across your skin like the rough pages of a book and his pit of guilt only deepened at the sight of you. He couldn't help it, he rose his hand to his mask and undid the zip before slowly and carefully cupping your cheeks in his pale hands. 

You were frozen, unable to face the scene before you. What was happening? You could barely comprehend. This was a ghoul yet he handled you so gently that you felt like a pampered princess. 

"I'm sorry I did this to you". 

You mind screamed, your body thrummed and you couldn't believe this was him. From the fog over his grey eye, you could tell that this man had experienced a pain you never would understand and that was only made worse from the image of you: the soulmate who bore the marks of his torture when he couldn't. 

"I don't-", 

But he was gone before you could finish. His body had jumped from the road along with his friend's while you were left to let tears stain your cheeks. 

I don't blame you. 

☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎

It had been a week after the supposed right-hand of Jason, also known as Naki, had been freed in an operation orchestrated by Aogiri. It was all the office would talk about and on your way home it was all you could think about. You wondered if Eyepatch was involved and feared to ask as it could draw suspicion of interest. But, you did snoop a little to find he was a strong ghoul, SS rate in fact. It chilled you to the bone when you read that and immediately closed the file and left it to the back of your mind. 

How could a ghoul so gentle yet so... you shook your head as you got your house keys from your bag. You couldn't think like that, no matter if your theory was correct you couldn't dwell on Eyepatch. He was dangerous and the reason you looked like you did. 

So once you were able to deflate onto your sofa, you managed to spare your thoughts of work. It was tiring and full of catastrophe that barely escaped into mundane life. Never did you even realise the CCG had the highest statistics for workplace mental health, despite it probably being common knowledge. Maybe you would be another percentage soon enough. 

"You should lock your windows", you jumped at his cool voice, the tone unwavering as he sat drinking a coffee on your kitchen table. 

"How the hell did you get in here!" You exclaimed. 

He sighed deeply, "again, you should lock your windows". 

"Doesn't matter, why are you here?", 

"What kind of soulmate would I be if I just abandoned you?". 

You watched him take another sip from the steaming cup as you sat up and hugged your body into itself. 

"You're a ghoul aren't you? Isn't it typical for us to stay away from each other?", 

"Not... entirely" his silhouette shrugged. Internally, you wished him to step from the darkness and really face you. 

"I'm guessing so you can eat me", you heard him scoff from the kitchen. 

"Humans, even if appetising, aren't my favourite", 

"That's ridiculous, a ghoul that doesn't like eating people? You're pulling my leg" you dismissed before he let the vibrations of clattering porcelain echo throughout the room.

"On the contrary, I'm not much of a joker", 

"Does that have anything to do with these?" you pointed to your scars before you could stop yourself. You watched his shadow stiffen for a moment before it deflated; the tension in the air only became thicker after that. 

"Yes...", 

"Y'know, I always wondered what you must've gone through-" you admitted as you trailed a stray scar with your finger, "- my family always cried for me, how I woke up one morning to this being my forever. And before, when the first one appeared a month before, I cried like I was mourning a loved one. But, when these came I could only think of the memories that you had to deal with on top of these scars. They were horrific and for ten days straight they kept coming until there was nothing left to give". 

Kaneki contemplated approaching with his mask-less face bare to the air. He was a high profile monster but the girl before him, you, deserved more than a shadow of a soulmate. So with hesitant movements, he stepped into the artificial light with his heart assaulting his ribs like a caged lion. He wasn't the same as before and he knew from this point that you wouldn't know the Ken Kaneki he's been for twenty years of his life. 

You couldn't picture a man more perfect. It was like he was carved from clouds with his milky, white complexion and soft features. His voice was anything unlike his real appearance and it sent your body into a frenzy. From then on you wanted to know every inch of the ghoul before you, even despite the reputation of his species. 

"Do I get a name along with the face?" You asked sheepishly, knowing it was already a lot to reveal his physical identity. 

"Ken, Ken Kaneki" he introduced as if the words were foreign upon his tongue. 

"I-I'm (Y/N) (L/N), it's nice to finally meet you", 

"I feel the same, I always wondered what you'd be like" he honestly admitted like it was an unconscious afterthought. 

"I think everyone does. I wish you could've met me before you went through what you did", 

"We were probably prettier people", your heart seized in your throat. 

"Were you always like this?", 

"No, I don't think the hair is my colour" he tried to joke awkwardly and successfully so as he pulled a giggle from your plush lips. 

"No, I like it. It's different" you complimented before forgetting yourself and raking your fingers through the soft strands. At first, Ken was jogged by the sudden contact, when you realised that and immediately stopped until he calmed himself with a deep exhale and let you slowly continue. For some reason, the small touch calmed you both until your brain began gnawing to ask. 

"Kaneki... y'know about the scars?", his eyes peeled open after a few moments. 

"You want to know where they're from?", 

"If it's too much I can always-", 

"It's alright, you deserve to know" he sighed before shuffling closer and nervously pulling your hand into his.   
"The rings around your fingers and I'm guessing your toes too? That's from them being amputated continuously; after they were all gone he kept cutting until it was just my torso sitting before him. Your face-" his fingers trailed across your cheeks delicately, "- he slammed a hammer against my mouth and proceeded to pull out my teeth until a black gaping hole was all that was left, and your nails..." he silence said enough as the rough pads of his fingers slowly caressed your cuticles. After his words, you were completely stunned into silence, your bottom lip quivering as you pictured his body completely torn apart as he screamed his lungs out and let tears stain his cheeks. 

"Ten days?" You asked with a trembling bottom lip. 

"Ten days of regrowth and repeat", 

"And I had the audacity to let people blame you" you growled. 

"You didn't know, you can't blame yourself" he reassured until he felt you interlock your hands and squeeze them in an attempt to comfort. 

"Still, it was inhumane what you went through", 

"(Y/N), I'm not human", 

"I know, but you're so... even as Eyepatch your eyes are too sad not to be" you confessed with the softest whisper you could muster. The atmosphere between you was thick and pregnant with romantic tension that you heard normally transpired between soulmates. So, once you saw his shoulders deflate in relaxation, you cautiously (like a keeper in the presence of a tiger) wrapped your arms around his neck and buried your face into the crook of his shoulder. You could feel he was hesitant to respond but in the silence, he soon did so while regulating his strength as he held you close. 

Maybe this was a chance to protect Anteiku, still keeping the façade of Eyepatch while reverting back to the Kaneki before the torture with you. He could do that, you knew if his trauma, it was written across your body and free to the air. While you maintained the hug, he burrowed his face into your shoulder and inhaled a deep breath. You smelt like a mix of sweat, flowers and printer ink but underneath was what he was craving: sweet, supple meat.

"(Y/N)...", 

"Yes, Kaneki" you murmured against his cool skin, he shuddered as he felt your warm breath fan over his neck. 

"You do smell nice", you didn't know how to respond. 

Was that meant to be a compliment? 

"T-Thanks".

☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎

It had been a month ore two since Kaneki had snuck into your house and since that, he had stayed over some nights (some being a huge understatement). Every day besides the weekend and Monday, Kaneki -who you now referred to as Ken- visited after you came home from work and provided you with the company you'd been deprived of. 

Because of the scars, people remained wary and tended to stay far but close enough so they could stare and trail their eyes across your marred skin. On a rare occasion, you would come home teary-eyed and insecure and flee into your soulmate's arms in an attempt to forget your day. Tonight was just the same. 

You curled up on his lap, his arms locked around you as you cuddled yourself further into his chest and blanket. He was cold but your red soaked cheeks did well to make you forget that. Instead, you simply focused on his fingers massaging your scalp and the comforting whispers he offered you. 

"I just can't stand the staring. Especially at work-" you admitted in exasperation, "- I mean, they see me every day. You would think they would be used to it"

"They just don't understand" He soothed before kissing your temple. 

"They could at least try; try not to make me feel more hideous than I am", Kaneki stiffened beneath you and he felt his heart stutter.   
"I'm sorry". 

"No, don't be. But you're not hideous" he sighed, he couldn't help it. Despite the guilt which plagued him every time he looked upon you he couldn't help but hold his breath against your beauty. Your scars only proved you were his and would forever be. And his guilt was only worsened when his demented mind revelled in the scars warding off anyone else; any other suitors that could oppose him. 

"You should've seen me before" and at that, you perked up, your body shooting from his hold and while he left in confusion you pulled out your middle school yearbook and your old camera from right before you woke up on that fateful day.   
"I can't believe I didn't think of this before". 

"Pictures?", you nodded in delight before you returned to his lap and pressing the power button on your camera. Immediately, he was enraptured by the clear skin upon your cheeks flushed pink, your wet hair which clumped together and fell like a (H/C) waterfall over you shoulder and your body barely covered by a towel. 

"You shouldn't have seen these" you awkwardly chuckled. 

"No, I like this one". 

Once again your face burned from the blood rushing to it. 

"Y-You can have the camera- only if you want, I don't want to just-", 

"Thank you (Y/N). But don't think I won't want a few more recent photos", 

"Bummer for you but there aren't any", 

"At all?" Kaneki asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"I guess I just couldn't find a way to take them...", 

At the confession, Kaneki checked the storage on the camera, "there's still space". 

"Space? What?...", that's when you heard the click of the shutter.

Once you readjusted your eyes back to the dim lighting from the flash, you captured a peaceful expression curling at his lips. It was rare and had you heart thumping erratically as he continued to study the picture he had captured. 

"Kaneki?...", 

"You're beautiful-" he announced bluntly before raising his head, his grey eyes bore into yours with a lovable determination, "- don't let me hear you say otherwise". 

"And what if you do?", 

"Then- " he dropped the camera aside and began to tickle at your waist. Like lightning, the tight sensation attacked your nerves and made you squeal in shock, "- I'll have to eat you up"

"Like you could", 

"Don't test me human. Now smile for me, you know how much I like it after a hard day". 

So that's what you did, you turned around in his embrace and gave him the toothy grin he'd been looking forward to all day.


End file.
